National Clean Air Day

For National Clean Air Day, Geographical brings together stories about air pollution and the kind of solutions needed to tackle it

It is everywhere – the air we breath and the pollutants we put into it. Some emissions harm us, such as the particulates PM10 and PM2.5, which in high concentrations are can cause respiratory health problems. In fact, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution is the world’s single biggest environmental health risk. Others harm the environment, such as sulphuric dioxide, which can degrade ecosystems and bodies of water. The most talked about pollutants – the greenhouse gases – can heat up the air, the sea and everything inbetween.

National Clean Air Day aims to underline some of these issues and encourage people to make small changes to reduce air pollution. Co-ordinated by the charity Global Action Plan, there will be events in cities all over the UK throughout the week. It has also developed a Virtual Reality experience featuring a spot-the-pollution game as well as film of a journey showing emissions through the eyes of a small child – a population group that is among the most vulnerable of all to air pollution.

The July 2017 issue of Geographical will feature a special ten-page Dossier on the state of the air in cities, both in the UK and throughout Europe. Until then, catch yourself up on some of our recent pollution stories: